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Monday, August 29, 2016

99 Cent Sale for Awaiting Fate: Will Cain find Olivia before it's too late or will their differences tear them apart?

Awaiting Fate

By J.L. Sheppard

On sale for $.99

Cain Thaler’s
lived more than four hundred years fighting rogue immortals, avenging the
family he’d lost. It’s all he’s needed, all he’s wanted. That changes the
fateful day he lays eyes on his fated mate. Olivia Waden, a werewolf princess,
is nothing like him. Unwilling to give her up, he sets a plan into motion:
ignoring his need to claim her, he befriends her.

Despite Cain's
best efforts at friendship, Olivia has fallen hard for him. It is him she
dreams of, him she wants as her fated mate. But she is sure he doesn't feel the
same way. In way over her head, she has no option but to run away from the only
man she's ever loved.

Will Cain
find Olivia before it's too late or will their differences tear them apart?

Excerpt 1

“What?” She
managed the strength to mumble.

He drew closer, pressing his chest against hers. The heat of his body caressing
hers, she grew warm with craving. Helplessly, her gaze drifted to his thick
full lips. Her mind wandered. What she’d give for a kiss, a single mind-blowing
kiss?

Cheeks flushing, her gaze darted toward his again. “Why are you…” Her body’s
desires overwhelming her, she gasped for breath.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”

He wasn’t just angry. He was livid, and he was livid with her because she’d
left.

She didn’t know what to say, had no excuse, not one she could tell him anyway.

Shutting his eyes firmly, his anger intensified, coiling rapidly against her
until she not only felt it but tasted it. Still, she wasn’t afraid. With each
passing moment, all she felt was heat, his and hers, and how badly she wanted
him.

“Answer me,”
he demanded harshly. “Tell me why you left without telling me!”

His tone startling her, she jolted against him, her body rubbing his. A desire
so powerful rippled through her and spiraled inside her, pooling liquid between
her legs. It clouded her every thought and every action, so as she stared
straight into his eyes, she couldn’t remember what he’d said.

Clenching
his jaw, he ground his teeth in anger, so close to losing it. “Olivia, tell
me!”

Excerpt 2

“What
do you want most in the world?”

You, he thought but left the truth unsaid.

What
could he say? He wanted to seek shelter in her arms and comfort in her touch.
He wanted to come home to her face, her smile—her. He wanted her barefoot and
pregnant with life they created growing inside her. He wanted her to love him
so much she couldn’t fathom living and breathing without him. He was already
there.

“I
want a lot of things, too many,” he finally said.

A
cop-out, so the moment he’d spoken the words, he regretted them. He needed her
to trust him, but his situation made it difficult. He couldn’t tell her the
truth, only a version of it without revealing too many details.

“I
want my fated to love me,” he said it so simply.

He
hoped she would respond. More than anything he wanted her to ask him if he’d
found his. Because he knew if she did, he’d never be able to lie and, finally,
she’d know. He waited for her to say something, but she never did, so he found
himself gazing at the stars praying he could magically cure her sadness.

He
didn’t get his wish, but he did sit with her for hours. He didn’t speak, only
listened to the sounds of their breaths, wishing for more.

It
was inevitable to want more, more of her, all of her, but for now, sitting in
the dark, gazing at the stars was enough.

Valerie
Matlock’s life revolves around her coven. Young and naïve, she knows little
about the immortal war brewing until the night her coven is attacked. In the
blink of an eye, the family she loves is gone. Devastated, she lays eyes on the
angry demon warrior, Jacob Rhodes. A Guardian, he means her no harm, but she
fears him as deeply as she craves him. She has to stay away. She just doesn’t
know if she can.

The
pain of Jacob’s losses have hardened him. He lives for revenge and uses anger
like a shield, keeping everyone at arm’s length. He can’t risk losing more.
Tragedy strikes, again, and he’s left caring for his four-year-old niece,
Annie. The bright girl deserves better than him. But he can’t give her up, not
ever. When he sets his eyes on his fated mate, the powerful witch, Valerie, his
life gets twice as complicated. Will she accept him, a demon she fears and his
adopted child?

Excerpt:

A
beautiful stranger sleeping on his couch.

His
heart pounded faster. His chest heaved. Rubbing his sweaty palms against his
jeans, a growl escaped his lips. A sense of possessiveness overwhelmed him.

Taking
a step closer, he pulled in a breath. Shivers ran through his body. Holding
back a groan, his jaw clenched.

Breathtaking.

Fascinating.

Marvelous.

And
it was no longer a mystery. The haunting scent was hers.

And
it wasn’t just her scent, it was her.
Striking, everything about her drew him in. His body pulsed, desire to hold
her, comfort her, protect her welled inside him. Powerful, confounding, and
indescribable. Even now, staring at her
he was drawn inexplicably. He couldn’t put it into words, but he couldn’t
ignore it. He knew what it was and
why he couldn’t control it.

She
was his fated mate, the woman granted
to him above all others, his other half. There was no question.

He
couldn’t help what he did next. Ever so slowly, he drew closer. A mere few feet
away, he held his hand over her face, craving with every fiber in his being to
feel the softness of her skin against his.

Before
he could, her eyes snapped open. Painful jolts shot through him. The pain so
unbearable it brought him, a demon, to his knees. The current gone a moment
later, but the pain hadn’t faded. Every joint, every muscle ached.

J.L. Sheppard was born and raised in Miami, Florida where she still
lives with her husband and son.

As a child, her greatest aspiration was to become a writer. She read
often, kept a journal and wrote countless poems. She attended Florida International
University and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelors in Communications. During her
senior year, she interned at NBC Miami, WTVJ. Following the internship, she was
hired and worked in the News Department for three years.

It wasn’t until 2011 that she set her heart and mind into writing
her first completed novel, Demon King’s Desire, which was published in January
of 2013.

Besides reading and writing, she enjoys traveling and spending
quality time with family and friends.